Lij Teodrose Fikremariam is the co-founder and former editor of the Ghion Journal. He is currently the chair of Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy. A published author and prolific writer, a once defense consultant was profoundly changed by a two year journey of hardship and struggle. Going from...

Flashback Seek TruthTV

Ghion Manifesto

Ghion Dozen: Hands United for Empowerment

We are thinking about starting a volunteer group of sorts, a diverse gathering of free thinkers, where we will share ideas and implement plans to enhance the reach of the Ghion Journal.

The goal is not growth for the sake of growth but growth for the sake of spreading the messages that more and more people are being drawn to. A lot of our readers love the work that we are doing at the Ghion Journal and they keep telling us that more people should read our articles. The Ghion Dozen is a way to do just that; a group small enough to communicate freely but not too big to where productive conversations become impossible.

One of the ideas that we are kicking around, for example, is something called the #DailyWater. We are named the Ghion Journal after the Ghion River. You see, the river that the world now knows as the Nile River was once called the Ghion River. In fact, we still call it the Ghion River in Ethiopia. Unraveling the centuries of lies that have been accepted as truths is one of our primary objectives. Not that we own truth, but ours is to seek truth and to always question what we are being told.

To this end, the DailyWater is an initiative where we ask our readers to print one hard copy per day/week/or month and then give it to a friend or a random stranger on the street. This is our way of making print media cool again by decentralizing the production cost and creating a sense of community to spread the Ghion Manifesto. Our mission from the outset was to reclaim media and revolutionize the industry, sometimes the revolution is going back to what worked instead of chasing what’s broken into the future.

This is but one of the ideas we are kicking around. We want to invite people into our group and give people a sense of ownership in our endeavor. We want to be a community publication in action as well as spirit. If you want to be a part of the Ghion Dozen and join us in our journey as we take on the establishment and speak against corporate media, email us at info@ghionjournal.com with “Ghion Dozen” in the subject line.

I look forward to hearing from people who are interested. Please include in your emails your location, your background and a quick blurb on why you are interested in being a part of the Ghion Dozen. I am stipulating this in anticipation of getting a lot of emails, in which case I want to make sure that people are selected on merit instead of happenstance. Look forward to hearing from you, until then, have a great weekend.

A Special Message

Speaking of united hands, yesterday evening, in the article about broken waters that heal, I mentioned the story of a homeless woman named Nikki who tweeted me out of the blue after she read my story about I overcame homelessness and how I found hope after my downfall. She was moved to tears reading my story and I was likewise moved to tears as I read about her present circumstance. I asked her to start a GoFundMe account and that I would do all that I can to help her out.

All art that moves us are those who speak to our pains. I have been homeless before, I know how harrowing the experience is. Her condition is even more dire than mine was, she has a child. As I noted yesterday in the article, I do not know her and I’m taking her at her words. But upon further conversations with her in private chat, I am convinced that she is someone who is truly in need. So I’m asking you, as you are able, to help Nikki out. Her GoFundMe can be found by clicking HERE or on her picture below. I thank you in advance and I know she does too. Love, you see, is the change we all have been waiting for.

What we need is not a revolution of the gun but an evolution in our hearts::

Lij Teodrose Fikremariam is the co-founder and former editor of the Ghion Journal. He is currently the chair of Ethiopians for Constitutional Monarchy. A published author and prolific writer, a once defense consultant was profoundly changed by a two year journey of hardship and struggle. Going from a life of upper-middle class privilege to a time spent with the huddled masses taught Teodrose a valuable lesson in the essence of togetherness and the need to speak against injustice.

Originally from Ethiopia with roots to Atse Tewodros II, Lij Teodrose is a former community organizer whose writing was incorporated into Barack Obama's South Carolina primary victory speech in 2008. He pivoted away from politics and decided to stand for collective justice after experiencing the reality of the forgotten masses. His writing defies conventional wisdom and challenges readers to look outside the constraints of labels and ideologies that serve to splinter the people. Lij Teodrose uses his pen to give a voice to the voiceless and to speak truth to power.